Gone Glamping!

Summer’s flown by! For us, it wasn’t the best of summers (disgustingly humid, extremely rainy and boiling HOT), though we did have some great moments. The highlight this summer was last weekend: we (finally) got to go camping and participated in our second-ever vintage camper rally!

We almost didn’t go. Pip, our chihuahua, had been ill again. For over a week before we were to camp, I’d been babying him day and night, with six runs to the vet! It’s heart wrenching when you have a sick furbaby! The day before, the vet gave us the blessing to go. Pip loved every minute, and I’m happy to report he’s feeling better.

The oppressive heat and humidity, not typical for Connecticut, gripped most of the summer. My yard and gardens aren’t up to their usual par, and while I hate complaining, it was too much for me- and I grew up in humid Texas heat!

I’ve been getting veggies, but weeding and keeping up is hard in the swampy weather we’ve had this year.

I definitely don’t think sleeping in a canned ham without air conditioning would make me a “happy camper” in that weather! New England also suffered never-ending rain, more than usual. (I heard it rained twenty out of thirty days)! However, it was meant to be, as Mother Nature promised us a weekend with a high of no more than 80, and a short break from high humidity.

Earlier in the week, I packed up Gidget, and we took her for a spin around the neighborhood to check all was up to task…turn signals, lights, wheels- so we could make any needed adjustments before leaving on our journey. At the end of the week, we headed out to the campsite.

The drive was beautiful. Back roads of farmland and mountain views made for a picturesque ride. We stopped for lunch at an organic farm stand/deli that makes out-of-this-world sandwiches.

This was the view from the parking lot when we stopped for lunch.

We arrived around five and set up. It was great to see familiar faces-campers we’d met last year, now friends, stopping by to greet us. By dusk, we were eating steak marinated earlier in the day, with “foil veggie-packs” of garden goodies picked that morning. Making dinners ahead of time means more time enjoying the weekend instead of prepping in the kitchenette. Packed in the cooler, I also had a chicken broccoli casserole (60’s recipe) for the vintage campers potluck, and chili to warm in the slow cooker, just in case we got rain and couldn’t use the grill.

Happy campers!

The evening was warm but comfortable. We closed the beautiful night sitting with 18 other vintage camper enthusiasts around a cozy campfire, happy to catch up with friends we knew while meeting new ones- all sharing the hobby of vintage trailer camping!

Saturday morning, we enjoyed coffee perked in our 60’s percolator, and began setting up for camper tours that would happen later in the day. Gidget sparkled inside and out. Before the tours started, we spent the day with quality, unplugged family time while eating lunch outdoors, walking the campsite, reading and playing cards and Bingo.

“I’m King of the World!”

The vintage camper tours were tons of fun. We met many nice people, toured other campers, and gave tours of our little time capsule.

Showtime! Let the tours begin!

Welcome to 1966!

My “boys” and their matching shirts relaxed between visitors. Aren’t they handsome?

So many different camper makes and models attended, all unique inside and out. We all had a blast!

Most visitors are excited to see inside a vintage camper, and enter with care. Vintage camper owners share a passion for preserving these little gems of the past, that recall simpler times. We love to share our hard work and to see the joy on others’ faces. While we all stay in our campers, visitors should remember peeking in a vintage caravan is a bit like entering a museum. (It’s also someone else’s home away from home). Enjoy, but be respectful. Some things aren’t replaceable or are difficult to replace. I’ve heard stories from other classic camper rallies of overly-eager kiddos slamming doors (resulting in broken antique mirrors), and floors being damaged from too many visitors at once. Gidget was left unscathed, thankfully, but I did get a wee nervous when large groups entered at one time. (It reminded me of a clown car at a circus! Next time, I’ll politely ask to limit the number of people at a time inside).

After the tours, my family took a quick, refreshing dip in the pool before heading over to the evening’s potluck for the vintage camper tour participants. Fresh corn, casseroles, meatballs, salads and more was served, topping a great evening.

Cutest cake ever!

Campers were asked to sign this amazing puzzle, started at last year’s rally. It took one staff member almost a year to complete!

Afterwards, Pip and I walked the campsite with my friend Sherry and her adorable pup, Marlon, and then everyone headed over to the camp pavilion where a DJ played retro music.

Kim, Audrey and I made a few s’mores before retiring, a good exhaustion! The weekend was was short, but we returned home after two relaxing days of sun and old-fashioned family fun. It was nice to have the chili I’d made on hand, because after returning home I didn’t want to cook!

It was a great weekend, but I did come home to THIS. Sigh…there’s just so much protesting going on these days.

After the weekend, Gidget was dirty inside from visitors, the three of us, and the dog. I was having a hard time getting her floors cleaned with just a broom. For less than $20, I found a “3 in 1” stick vacuum by Bissell in a “limited edition” camper color! It works like a charm, fits in my itty-bitty camper closet, and doesn’t weigh a thing! Gidget sparkles again!

Inside the camper, it’s 1966. Truly a perfect weekend, it was a much-needed break from the bustle of 2018! My daughter said it was just what she needed before starting back to high school the next day (as a JUNIOR, gulp! Can you believe it?)

Hope your summer was a good one! Leave me a comment here so I know you stopped by! XoXo

Hi there, Jeanne. I don’t have one myself in my collection, but I did check Ebay and Etsy for you. Both sites have repurposed vintage sewing machines made into cute tractors for sale. Happy Hunting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Hi Marlene! It sounds like you had a great weekend, too! The kids have gone back to school, but today was an early dismissal because of the severe heat and humidity. Doesn’t feel like Fall here yet, but soon, I hope! Thanks for reading and commenting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

I loved your weekend wrap-up! Made me reminiscent of my family’s trips to Tonganoxie State Park in Kansas back in the late 70’s. Daddy would fish and I did a lot of summer reading and hiking. Nothing tasted better than food prepared outdoors!

Hi Laura, thank you…I am so happy you enjoyed the blog post and that I made you think of such happy memories. I am hoping that years from now, my daughter will remember the fun we’ve had camping. And I agree, nothing tastes better than food prepared outdoors! Thanks so much for reading and sharing! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Your hard work has really paid off.
Gidget truly is a time capsule! And I love that it’s a family thing, too! What could be better than making new friends and lasting memories?
We survived another hot and humid, New England Summer and still had fun!
Here’s to cooler weather!
Farmgirl hugs,
Deb

Hi Deb! Thanks so much! I hope Audrey remembers the fun times we have gone camping when she is older. We really enjoyed the weekend together. We were lucky we got that break…we’ve had the same hot and humid weather here. Hopefully it breaks again soon! Right now I can’t get into Gidget without melting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Hi Marilyn, thank you. Pip has had us very worried the last couple of weeks. Thankfully, we have a wonderful vet office who has been monitoring him closely with us. Fingers crossed he continues on the road to improvement. Thanks so much for the well wishes for my little guy! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

I LOVED all the pics…cant wait until me and my sweetie can go again in ours…Hopefully soon…I would love to go to a vintage camper rally..I loved the puzzle…and your furbaby is ADORABLE….we have two little furbabys that travel with us as well.. Your camper is awesome…keep camping and having fun…And sharing with us too…Neta.

Hi Vivian, I can’t wait to go camping again…so sad that I will have to wait until next year! In the meantime, I “play” in mine until we wrap her up for the long, cold winter! Give your furbabies a pat from me. Thanks for reading and always leaving me a comment. Means a lot. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

I love your camper!! My house is a petite 1950 box, and while it has been challenging to comfortably downsize into it, I love getting decorating inspiration and space -saving ideas from vintage camper refurbished such as yourself. Thanks! Also, I’d love to hear of humidity-beating ideas from others facing oppressive heat and humidity without central air or good ventilation. I am not super outdoorsy, but when it’s cool and dry out, I enjoy taking walks and light gardening and hanging with my daughter and our 3 chickens… however our rural Maryland 1/4 acre has been an oppressive swamp since the winter snow left us. How can I enjoy being at home, let alone outside, or exercising, when constantly cocoons in a layer of sweat? Thanks!

Hi Amy, thanks for reading and commenting! I am so glad you enjoyed the blog. I tell ya, I grew up in heat and humidity and it is harder for me than it used to be. Even with the A/C in the house, I was uncomfortable this summer. However, as long as the air is moving, it’s better. Fans! I always have a fan going, and when it gets humid and hot, I like cool, wrung out wet washcloths on my neck, even when I sleep. Hope that helps! Thanks for reading and commenting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

I am 73 and want a camper like yours. I have been wanting to camp out since I married 12 years ago. Finally I saw my hubby discreetly looking at the ads in our town for campers. I hope that there is more to it than looking lol. Loved reading your adventure.

Priscilla, I hope you get your camper! I have a friend who is about your age and she just got one this year. It is being all glamped up. It’s so much fun! Let me know if you get one! Fingers crossed for you! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain

Debbie Bosworth

is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”

“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”

Rebekah Teal

is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.

“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.

“Keep close to Nature’s heart … and break clear away once in awhile to climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods, to wash your spirit clean.”
~ John Muir

Cathi Belcher

an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.

“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”

Dori Troutman

Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!

Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.

Shery Jespersen

Previous Ranch Farmgirl,Oct 2009 – Nov 2013

Wyoming cattle rancher and outpost writer (rider), shares the “view from her saddle.” Shery is a leather and lace cowgirl-farmgirl who’s been horse-crazy all of her life. Her other interests include “junktiques,” arts and crafts, glamping, collecting antique china, and cultivating mirth.

Farmgirlis a condition
of the heart.

Alexandra Wilson

is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.

Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!

Libbie Zenger

Previous Rural Farmgirl,June 2010 – Jan 2012

Libbie’s a small town farmgirl who lives in the high-desert Sevier Valley of Central Utah on a 140-year-old farm with her husband and two darling little farmboys—as well as 30 ewes; 60 new little lambs; a handful of rams; a lovely milk cow, Evelynn; an old horse, Doc; two dogs; a bunch o’ chickens; and two kitties.

René Groom

Previous Rural Farmgirl,April 2009 – May 2010

René lives in Washington state’s wine country. She grew up in the dry-land wheat fields of E. Washington, where learning to drive the family truck and tractors, and “snipe hunting,” were rites of passage. She has dirt under her nails and in her veins. In true farmgirl fashion, there is no place on Earth she would rather be than on the farm.

Farmgirl spirit can take root anywhere—dirt or no dirt.

Nicole Christensen

calls herself a knitter, jam-maker, and vintage enthusiast who "never met an antique sewing machine she didn't like." Born and raised in the great state of Texas, she now resides in suburban New England in picturesque Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York state.

Married for over twenty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields and has been a world-traveler, entrepreneur, and homemaker, but considers being a mom her greatest accomplishment of all. In addition to blogging, she also teaches knitting professionally and is a Certified Master Gardener. Loving all things creative and domestic, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “bloom where you are planted.”

Paula Spencer

Previous Suburban Farmgirl,October 2009 – October 2010

Paula is a mom of four and a journalist who’s partial to writing about common sense and women’s interests. She’s lived in five great farm states (Michigan, Iowa, New York, Tennessee, and now North Carolina), though never on a farm. She’s nevertheless inordinately fond of heirloom tomatoes, fine stitching, early mornings, and making pies. And sock monkeys.